Winding device



Oct. 22, 1946.

w. G. KNAPP WINDING DEVICE Filed Dec. 8, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 R m m m I Oct. 22, 194 6. w. G. KNAPP 2,409,942

WINDING DEVICE Filed Dec. 8, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Oct. 22, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WINDING DEVICE William G. Knapp, Evanston, ILL, assignor to Charles P. Peirce, Evanston, Ill.

Application December 8, 1943, Serial No. 513,341

C aims 1 The present invention relates to a win ing 1.? vice, o a cha a te da ted a u arl or in guiding wire in apparatus inwhich sound is adapted to be magnetically impressed on the wire as t passes hr gh a uitabl m net bo diso ed bet n e w su pl an ta e-uh spools- In the present day systems of recording sound on Wire, W r of r m diam t r a uti ized, nd in he know p t s p v de o u din the wire rom the pp spo l o the take-up P L. and ice rsa set n and b aka e o he w r fr q e t o u In i d n a pa atu with which I am familiar traversing mechanisms are provided for guidin the wire upon the supply and take-up spools to and fro thereof in the direction of the axes of rotation of thespools in order to wind the wire in successive layers upon the spools. One of the chief difficulties with the prior art devices is that they incorporate unsatisfactory uide means for guiding the wire as it leaves and approaches the spools, in that they are of a character which cause the wire to set or break. These guide elements usuallya-re in the form of a hook shaped 100p. and are disadvanta-r geous in that in their guiding action they impart sharp turns which tend to set the wire resulting in easy fracturing of the same.

It is an object of my invention to provide a winding mechanism for guiding wire from'asupe ply spool to a take-up spool or vice versa in which the wire is not subject to being set, eliminating the cause of frequent breakage. of the wire.

In order to achieve the above noted object, I propose to provide a guide mechanism adapted to be carried or disposed intermediate a wire sup-z ply spool and a take-up spool which comprises a pivotally mounted plate member. The plate member has rotatably mounted thereon a pair of guide pulleys of a diameter so that when the wire isguided thereover a permanent deformation or set will not b imparted to the wire.

Suitable traversing mechanism is associated with the plate member so that the wire as it is passing from the supply spool to the take-up spool, or vice versa, is caused to be set upon a spool in successive abutting turns to and fro axially of the axis of rotation of the. spools and in successive layers thereon. J

In the preferred form of my invention the. mag.- netic recorder, which may constitute eithera recording mechanism and a transcribing mecha- .nism, or both,. is carried centrally of the plate member. The supply spool and the take-up spool are mounted for'rotation in any suitable manner and disposed asufiicient distance apart to accomiio i 2 modate the at memb n the g id p e s therebetween to provide for guiding the: wire in relatively long sweepsbetween the pair of spools avoiding imparting of sharp turns or bends to the wire inits travel.

Suitabl drive mechanism is incorporated with the winding device, and the drive mechanism is of a character providing for feeding the wire at the appropriate speed through the magnet box en h Wire i as i f om h u pl 5.9091 to the take-up spool andthrough the recorder for recording sound thereon. The, drive mechanism incorporates the feature of providingfor: a u h h her s ee r ewh hs 91? he ire ti a cor ha e ade th eon e h the wire is to be transferred from the take-up spool to the. originalsupply spool to be the position for passing through a transcriberior transcribe ing the und, re rded on he W Now, in order to acquaintthoseskilled in the art t t mann r of c ru i nd. era g a winding device accordance with my invention, I shall; describe in conjunction with the acm a ins dra in a refer d mbo en f the same.

n the d aw ngs Fi ure-l s a f n e e atioh i of t pe pa ndin dev ce constr cted n a co dance wit my n en iom eure- 2 is a r ar e e a qnel iew or the win ins evice of inve t on;

i u e. 3: s amen View o thede iee shown in ures-1 and 2;

Ei u e 4 isc deta l ve t q se ti na i w take substanti nihe1ine4 4 of Fi ure 3: a d

Fi ur his a de a lve ic l sectio al view on an enlar ed sce eahd taken su tan ia l on the line 5.1 579 7: F gure 3 look n the direc on h+ dicated by t arrow c rta n o h Pa ts ei hQWn in el vation.

Referring nowto, Figures 1 and '2 it will be seen that: the. winding device comprises a supporting frame- I having a; vertically extending pan l port on a horizon a y. ex endin ba portion 3. providing for support or the device in they position shown in Fi uresl and z. The vertical side edge portionsof panel 2 are bent rear.- wardly toprovide. side fianges:4. 4 and the. upper edge portion-of panel 2 also bent rearwardly. to provide a flange 6. The side edge portions of the base paneliare turned upwardly o f flan s 1-4- and suitable rei or ihsh r m me s: -4 a e secured a ne or the nd th r some side senses-4+4 o in v tical Pa e 2 with t e r th r' nds se ur dhdi c h er 3 ends of the side flanges 7-1 of the base panel 3' A pair of vertically extending panels 9 and I9 for supporting the drive mechanism rearwardly of the upper end of panel 2 of the device herein disclosed, are secured in fixed spaced apart parallel relation by a plurality of studs I, arranged with their opposite ends suitably secured alon the several edges of the panels, 9 and |9. The assembled plate members 9 and I9 areadapted to be supported in juxtaposition of the rear surface of the panel 2 of the supporting frame by means of a plurality of bolts l3 which extend through the panel 2 and have threaded engagement with the panel 9 at the corners and upper edge thereof. about the bolts I3 between the rear surface of the panel portion 2 of the frame and the front surface of the panel 9 to space the latter away from the rear surface of the vertically extending panel 2 of the supporting frame I. In the arrangement shown in the drawings, a wire supply'spool I5 is mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis upon a shaft |6 which extends through the panel members 2, 9 and I9 at the upper end of the device adjacent the left hand side thereof as viewed in Figures 1 and 3. .Suitable bearings I! are associated with the panels 9 and I9 and the shaft |6 to provide a bearing mounting for the shaft. The shaft l6 at the end thereof forwardly of the front face of the vertical panel 2 is provided with a pivotally mounted spring pressed finger |8 which together with a stop collar |9, fixed to the adjacent end of the shaft, provide for mounting of the spool |5 for rotation with the shaft I6. A driving pulley 2| is fixed to the opposite end of the shaft l6. 7 A wire take-up spool 23 is mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis upon a shaft 24 extending horizontally through the panels 2, 9 and I9, atthe upper end of the device adjacent the right handside thereof as viewed in Figures 1 and 3. The shaft 24 is assembled for rotation in bearings in the same manner as that described in conjunction with the shaft l6 for the supply spool l 5 and the parts bearing like reference numerals to the parts previously described in connection with the take-up pulley l5 are identical. The shaft 24 has keyed thereto a suitable worm 25 intermediate the panels 9 and |9 for rotation with the shaft. A driving pulley 21 is keyed to the rear end of the shaft and',' as' shown, is of greater diameter than the pulley'2l keyed'to shaft |6.

A plate member 39 is disposed intermediate the spools l5 and 23 in a position to lie forwardly of the front surface of the vertical panel 2 of the supportingframe. A pair of substantially L- shaped brackets 3 I, as viewed in plan, are secured to the vertical panel 2 with a leg portion extending in a direction awayfrom the front face of panel 2. The bearing plate 39 is provided adjacent its side edges intermediate the upper and lower edges thereof with hearing block members 33. A pivot pin 34 extends through and is secured in the outwardly extending leg of each of the bracket members 3| into the bearing blocks 33 to mount theplate member 39 for pivotal movement about a substantially horizontally extend.- ing axis. It will 'be observed from theseveral figures that the axis of rotation of the take-up spool 23,the'supplying spool l5 and the axis defined by the pivotal mounting of the plate member 39 all lie substantially in a common horizontal plane.

An idler guide pulley 35is mounted for rotation in the plate member 39 adjacent the upper right 'hand corner thereof as viewed in Figure 1.- The Suitable spacing washers M are disposed guide pulley 35 is mounted for rotation about a suitable bolt 36, and the pulley is spaced from the forward surface of plate 39 by a spacing collar 31 and the enlarged annular flange portion 38 of a threaded sleeve member carried by the plate member 39 and with which the bolt 36 has threaded engagement. A second idler guide pulley 49 is mounted for rotation at the. lower left hand end of the plate member 39, as viewed in Figure l. The pulley 49 is mounted "for rotation in the plate member 39 in .the same manner as the guide pulley 35 and the like reference numerals in describing the mounting of the latter pulley described identical parts for the pulley 49. A magnet box 4| is suitably secured centrally of the plate member 39. The structure of the magnet box is conventional and is provided with a cable .42 containing the electrical leads therefor.

It will be understood that so far as the structure of my present invention is concerned that the magnet box 4| may be of the character for recording sound upon wire, or of a characterf-or transcribing sound which has been recorded on wire,'or both. The supply spool |5, take-up spool 23 and the guide pulleys 35 and 49, together with the plate member 39 are preferably arranged and constructed in the proportions shown in the several figures so that the wire indicated at W from the supply spool is adapted'to be' threaded over the pulley 35, thence through magnet box 4|, thence over the pulley 49 to the take-up spool 23. In this manner arelatively long sweep of wire is provided to extend between the supply spool I5 and the guide pulley 35, and between the guide pulley 49 and the take-up spool 23. In a machine constructed in accordance with this disclosure, the supply and take-up spools were approximately 3 inches in diameter and the guide pulleys were approximately 1% inches in diameter. The pivotal axis of the plate member 39 is arranged so that it lies in a substantially horizontal plane extending through the axes of rotation of the supply and take-up spools, which are disposed to either side of the pivotal axis of the plate member 39. The'diameter of the'take-up and supply spools and guide pulleys 35 and 49 are sufficient to enable the Wire to be trained thereover without distorting or setting the wire.

An electric motor 43 is suitably secured to the base panel'3 and a'pulley 44keyed to the end of the armature shaft. A belt 45 extends from the pulley 44 to apulley 46 disposed centrallyof the pane1|9 adjacent the upper end thereof, and it is mounted for rotation about a sha'ft41 car ried in a block member 48'. Ashaft 49 extends transversely of panels 9 and I9 and extends throughthe upper end of the block member 48. Opposite ends of the shaft 49 are suitably secured in the panels 9 and I9 so that upon shifting of the block 48 about shaft 49' as 'an axis the friction hub portion 59 of the pulley '46 may be brought into engagement with either of a pair of pulleys 5| and 52. The. pulleys 5| and 52 are suitably mounted for rotation about shafts secured in the panel |9. The belt 55 drivingly connects the ulley. 5| with the pulley 2| carriedby the'shaft |6. A belt 56 provides-a driving. connection be tween the pulley 52 and the. pulley wheel 2! securedto shaft 24. The panel I9 is provided with a slot 51 accommodating adjustment of the block member 49 so that the friction hub'portion 59 of the pulley wheel 46 may be brought into. engage-'- ment with the outer peripheries'of either of the pulley wheels. 5| and 52, selectively, to drive either the supply spool or the take-up spool from the elect-ric'motor 43.

Reference may now be had 'to 'Figures 3, 4 and fora description of the drive mechanism for causingpivotal movement of theplate'member 3iJ about its axis providin-ga traversing mechanism for guiding-the wire "W from one spoolto "another. A WOllll gear 58 is suitably keyed-on a vertically extending shaft '59, the opposite ends of which are mounted tor rotation in'lugs 60 ofa Vertically extending bracket =61 secured to the rear face of the panel 2 in position to provideengagement of the worm gear 58 with the worm 25 keyed to theshaft '24. I he-shaft ESadjaCentitS lower end -hasabevel gear-62 keyed thereto which bevel gear is adapted to have engagement with a bevel gear-63 fixed at one end to a horizontally extending shaftefi l which is mounted for rotation ina suitably horizontally extending bracket 6.5 fixed to the rear face of panel 9. At its other end the-shaft 64 has suitablysecured thereto ailcevel gear t 'lrand this bevel-gear has-engagement with a -bv'el gear 63 carried by a shaft member 68. I he shaft -69 is mountedifor rotation about .a horizontal axis and :its opposite ends are suitably disposed in bearings :prov-ided therefor and carried by the paneIs B-and 4 6. The shaft fifiis rovided with double screw ill upon whicha nut .H is adapted to :be reciprocated axially of the shaft :69 upon'rotation of the latter. The nutmember T l: is provided'with aniupwardly extending yoke portion'lZhaving guiding engagement with a stud ll3secured .at its opposite ends in the panels 9 and :10. T'he'yokeportion =1 2 of. the inutmember zlliandzrthe stud 13 provide for guiding movement i of athefnut =memberaxiallyof the shaft 59 and prewentsarotationofithe:nutamember. A cap member :14. is .pivotally mounted about a horizontal .axislon the lower end of the :nutmember 11:1 to which is secured a shaft L5. 15 has pivotal connection to a bearing block 16 fixed adjacent the lower edge of the plate member 30 intermediate its side edges.

The operation of the device is as follows: Assuming that the block member 48 is shifted to the right as viewed in Figure 3, the motor 43 will cause the pulley 52 to be driven which by virtue of the connection between it and the pulley 21 by the belt 56 causes rotation of the take-up spool 23. The worm keyed to the shaft 24 through its meshing engagement with the worm gear wheel 58 rotates shaft 59 causing the bevel gear 62 to rotate the shaft 64 through the bevel gear carried at its end having meshing engagement with the bevel gear 62 of the vertical'shaft 59. Rotation of the shaft 64 in turn through meshing engagement of the bevel gear 6'! with the bevel gear 68 carried by the shaft 69 causes reciprocating movement of the nut member "H on the shaft 59. This motion is transmitted by the shaft 15 by virtue of its connection with the cap member 14 and the bearing block 15 secured to the plate member to cause the latter to pivot about its horizontal axis guiding the wire upon the take-up spool 23 after it has passed through the magnet box 4] to wind the wire upon the take-up spool 23. After the recording has been made and it is desired to rewind the wire upon the supply spool l5, the block member 48 is shifted to the left as viewed in Figure 3 to engage the friction drive hub portion 5!! of the pulley 46 with the pulley wheel 51 causing the pulley wheel 2| to be rotated by virtue of the belt 55 connecting the pulley 5i and the pulley 2|. Upon drive being imparted in the reverse direction to the supply spool l5 1. e., re-

The other end of the shaft verse to :its direction of rotation when-the wire is being taken off r-thereof for purposes of recording,=the wire W iscaused to move in al'direction from-the take-iip spool to the supply spool reversing-the direction 01; rotation of :the spools! 5 .and 23,:and idle-pulleys -35 aand' i40 in which position the-:wire "lSlIIGW ready to beltranscribed; or removed :from the-apparatus, or stored orlsent' else where for transcription purposes. fiwhentheiparts arerin'the positionlast referred to, the wireupon being :drawn .off .of Lthe take-:u spool :23 .causes rotation of shaft ill-which in .:turn actuates the traversing :mechanism for guiding. the-wire iupon theisupply spool.

:In adevicetactually constructed inaccordance with ithe embodiment of :the .inventionherei-n dis- Closed, :the several :bevel gears, together :with Mic double threaded screw. or shaft .69 were designed to provide .agear :reduction .of 2.00 to 1 to provide one :movement of :the 313131178 :member .30 to20l revolutions of shaft 2 4. Thetake-upspool Zfiibeing. approximately 11 wide thus provides for 1200 turns of -:Wire onthis spool when wire of about .004 inch in diameter is .used. The bevel pulley wheels are designed sorthat' upon reverse movementiof the wire W,ii..e., from the take-up spool back to the supply.:spool,,the diameters ,of theseveral pulleys and the like were designed to provide a ratio of 2 to ,1 in order to provide for rapid r wi ine of the wireupon thesupplyspool. iifhis m de of operati n .i advantageous ,inr at durin the. recording operation a predetermined and relatively slow speed of the wire-through'the magnetbox is reguiredto properly record th g an n h windin of the recorded w red-t is d s bl t Zb a Ie i o-d sozra dlyin avminimum amount of time.

It, is tobe observed that by virtue of the construction ,above-setforth that the-.take-up spool and supplyspoolas well as. the idler. guidepulleys 35 and 40 carried by the pivotally mounted plate 30, are all of relatively large diameter so that as the wire W is passed thereover, it will not be caused to take a permanent set. Further that the relatively long sweeps of wire extending from both spools to .the idler pulleys of the plate member, and the absence of any mechanism for causing the wire to pass over a sharp corner effectively prevents setting of the wire so that there is little likelihood of breakage or distortion of the wire.

While I have shown what I consider to be the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that various modifications and rearrangements may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a pair of spools spaced apart and mounted for rotation about parallel axes, a magnet box between said pair of spools and fixed against movement in a plane transverse of the axes of said spools, oscillating guide means for guiding wire from one spool to the other and through said magnet box, said guide means including means operative to maintain said wire in a fixed definite path for passage through said magnet box regardless of the amount of wire on either of said spools, and means for oscillating said guide means.

2. In a device having a magnet box through which a recording wire is adapted to be passed from one spool to another spool, and in which the spools are mounted for rotation about spaced parallel axes, the combination of a guide means comprising a guide. plate member mounted for pivotal movement about an axis extending'at right angles to the axes of said spools, an idler guide pulleys rotatably mounted in said guide plate on axes transverse to the pivotal axis of the latter, said magnet box :being fixed to said guide plate in juxtapositionof its pivotal axis, and means for oscillating said guide plate about its pivotal axis.

3. In a device of the class" described having a wire supply spool and a take-up spool mounted for rotation about fixed'spaced parallel axes, the combination of a guide means comprising a guide plate member mounted for pivotal movement about an axis extending substantially at right angles to the axes of saidspools, and a pair of idler pulleys rotatably mounted in said guide plate about axes extending transversely of the pivotal axis of the latter, said pivotal axis of said guide'plate and the axes of rotation of said spools lying in a common plane with the axis'of said idler pulleys lying to either side of saidpivotal axis of said guide plate; and means for oscillating said guide plate about its pivotal axis.

4. In a device of the class described the combination of a supporting frame, a first shaft rotatably mounted in said frame, a supply spool carried by said shaft for rotation therewith, a second shaft rotatably mounted in said frame and spaced from and extending substantially parallel to said first shaft, a take-up spool carried by said second shaft for rotation therewith, a guide means ior'guiding wire or the like from one spool to the other spool comprising, a plate member pivotally mounted about an axis extending at right angles to the axes of rotation of said shafts, a pair of idler guide pulleys about which the wire is adapted to be trained in passing from one spool to the other spool, said idler guide pulleys being mounted for 'rotation about axes transverse to the pivotal axis of said plate member and to either side thereof, means for selectively driving either of said shafts, and means interconnecting said plate member and said second shaft adapted upon rotation of the latter to oscillate said plate member about its pivotal axis.

5. The combination of claim 4 in which the means for selectively driving the shafts comprises a first pulley keyed to the first shaft and a second pulley keyed to the second shaft, said first pulley being of smaller diameter than said second pulley.

6. In a device of the class described,the combination of a pair of, spaced apart spools mounted for rotation about parallel axes, a magnet box between said pair of spools fixed against move* ment in a plane extending transversely of the adapted to maintain said wire in a fixed definite path for passage throughsaid magnetbox, and means for oscillating said guide means.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination of a pair of spaced apart spools mounted for rotation about parallel axes, a magnet box between said pair of spools fixed against movement in a plane extending transversely of the axes'of said spools, oscillating guide means for guiding wire from one spool to the other spool axially to and fro on said spools and through said magnet box, said guide means including means for guiding wire to and from the spools through said magnet box in a direction opposite the normal direction of movement oflthe wire from one spool to the other spool, and means for oscillating said guide means.

WILLIAM G. KNAPP. 

